Chain armor for pneumatic tires.



R.- C. PURVIS.`

CHAIN ARMOR FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

APPLICATION man Juv/11.1914.

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lill/11 l, i B y 5ML W 5M@ A TTOBNEY ROBERT o. PUEVIS, oF sEAEoRD, DELAWARE.

CHAIN ARMOR FOR PNEUMATIC TIRES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 9, 1918.

Appiieauon med July 11, 1914.'v serial No. 850,477.

To all ywlw/m, t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT C. Punvis, a citizen of the United States, residing at `Seaford, in the county of Sussex and State of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ChainArmorvfor Pneumatic Tires; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention refers to armors for automobile tires and more particularly to armors mainly protecting the tread portion of the tire, attached and retained in position by means of a plurality of side chains.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an improved type of armor for pneumatic tires which shall at one time satisfactorily answer to all the requirements of such a device that is great flexibility rendering the deviceadapted to perfectly fitthe loutli ne of the tire, adhering closely to the same, lightness, strength and good wearing qualities. Y

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved construction of armor for pneumatic tires comprising diagonal side chains retaining the device in position and insuring a perfect lit of the same on the tire at all times, this being due to the diagonal pulling action of said chains. i

A further object is to provide an improved method vfor taking up the slack or releasing the armor to perfectly fit the tension of the tire i With these and other objects in view, such as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, this invention consists of-certain novel constructions and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter described and claimed in the appended claims.

Hy improved armor consists essentially of a tread portion composed of a plurality of metallic disks connected to form a flexible fabric, and a plurality of chains diagonally extending on each side from 'said tread portion. In the construction of said tread portion I prefer in all cases to use hexagonal elementary disks flexibly connected to each other such as described and claimed in a previous patent application for armors for pneumatic tires, filed by me July 12, 1910,

,Serial No, 571,597, (now Patent 1,112,030),

In the construction of the elementary disks themselves, and in the flexible connections between the same, I furthermoreprefer to use the method described and claimed in a patent application forprotective armor for vpneumaticv tires, Serial No. 850,476, led siform of disk it is possiblel to obtain a perfectly close surface impenetrable to sharp pointed or sharp edged objects, while at the same time if flexible connections of the PIOper -forms are provided, it is possible to obtain a great flexibility and perfect' fit to the-surface of the underlying tire. In said patent application' have fully demonstrated the advantages given by using a construction of 'armor in which diagonal. rows of disks or chains are used to retain the device Vin position, the pull lof the road on said oblique rows of chains forcing the armor into close Contact with the surface of the tire. For the properworking of a device of this kind, it is absolutely essential that the same be closely adhering to the surface of, the ltire at all times, to prevent slippage, wear and abrasion of the tire, which are the unavoidable consequences if the armor is not properly constructed.

- The chains retaining the device inposition can be secured to the rim of the wheel in any suitable manner, and in the drawings is illustrated the preferred method of doing this which, I will, at a later stage, more fully describe.V I also provide means, as hereinbefore stated, for taking up the slack or releasing thearmor to suit the tension of the tire, and all these various details of my invention are `shown in their preferred form in the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side view in elevation of my improved armor attached to a rim member; A y

' Fig. 2 is a plan View of la disk andfconnecting links such as employed in the preferred vconstruction of the tread portion of the armor Y Y A l i z.

F ig,Y 3 is a cross sectional view ofthe same; LvFie! 4 1S e' fragmentary @es ,Sesma @armor constructed inv laccordance .with the Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the eccentricblock used for taking up the' slack or re- `leasing the armor;

Fig. 7 is a detail crosssectional view in elevation of the attaching portion of the chain showing the' operationof the eccentric block f Fig-,8 isa cross sectional .View in Ielevation cfa disk provided with -an insulating vbacking to prevent abrasionjof,tlietireand Fig.29:is:,a detail y.sideor edgeview inelevation 'showing thewajqof connecting endto end theelementscoinpo g thechains.

Referringto said dra ngs it-isseen that the treadportionof my armor .is composed of a-plurality of closely ,abutting hexagonal disks .fleXiblyconnected-g to each otherfsaid disks.. being' of.' theconstructioa described and claimed in .my patent lapplication `for protective armor ,for pneumatic tires, filed simultaneously herewith, ,the detailed. ystruc- -tufre of the individual disks .being clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and. 3. ln; Fig. .1 is illustrated la 4small portion of a complete present invention..v It is .to v,be understood that thearmor extends lengthwise or circumferentially to left and right ofthe portion shown inlligxl and..thatapproximately only onelialftheentire width of the armor lin the transverse direction is shown in this ligure. ln the present exainple,the armor abiicproper is composed of Va plnralitvof hexagonaldisks of. astri'icture to beinore fully hereinafter described. These disks are in close arrangement with their .edges almost.` or .substantially abutting and. are connected together in such manner as to give the resultant assemblage extreme flexibility. IIn Fig. v1, the -spaces'bejtween the adjacentI disk edges are rather wider, especiallyv .in tlie'tread portion of thearinor, than is usual or necessaryiii practice the present showclearer illustrationV of .the connecting ineinbers or linksL securing the ,disks together.

ln Fig. 1 disks '10;.are connected together in 'approximate :end-to-end. abutment to form a row .extending ilengthwise I of the armor and centra-liv` of its tread. v Eachdisk in this Acei'itral row .has its :two opposite pairsof lateral edges glinkedtovthe :adj acent yedges -of disks 10:L which are connected endt to end .in tvvoyrows.extending. lengthwise, one ongeach .side of g the.. central-` lrow and :parallel `.therev'to..f, Outside o'feach row. ofdisks 10a, disks V10b are connected end to end into simi-lar --loiigitudinal rows; .but .it .is .to be lnoted v that only ;alte rnate edges .adj'acent the disks 10a are connected to said disks, the remaining samens.

edges b" adjacentl disks 10abe ing `left free as shown; `'lhismethodiof alternateI linkage may also be employed in connecting the rows of disks lOgtofthe central row of disks 10, but, in practice, it is preferred to follow the .method of .linkage above described.

The disks 10, 1G and 10" are composed of an inner plate 11 and an outer plate 12 and a inasterrivet 13 connecting said two plates together. On said' master rivet is inserted a washer 14, keeping the tivo plates proper .distance to allow free working. of connecting5 links 15 said connecting `links 15 arefgrctaiiied -n position' by 'stud' rivets 16,' but are free toniove within the' gap yProvided @bet-.Ween ,the ,two plates @01111103- ing the disk.

Theginasteryrivet 13 is provided with a largehead 17, V and stud `rivets 16` are each pifovidcdwith a large ,head 18, said rivet heads projecting from the lsurface of outer plate 12, The form offdisk connectioii .just

ments of the service l' to which 'l the devicej is vdescribed peculiarly answers to the .requireput, aslthe rivet heads presentan excellent friction andi Vwearing surface, taking up all thefcontact with the road land leaving sufficient spacc to preventtl'ie' suctionl on said road yat the saine time Ventilating the fabric ,and "keeping it cool.' The connecting liiiks,j

a new link and rivets replaced by anyliandy person this facilitates repairs since anyv part oi, iiu ii iber of parts can be thusrcinovedand replaced.

The fabric thus obtaii ied is .very easily/f assembled land is possessed vof extreme. iiexibilityv as has been explained in my other patent application above referred .to-, and on account of the elongated A'opening ofA the links, the pulling action of the retaining chains will quickly and easilyv cause the va- ,riousdisks to crowd against each other'to form a continuous punctureproof surface. ing being` :for the purpose of permitting v Some'of the characteristics of the present armor over the ones forming the objects of my previous patent applications arelightness and an increased facility in handling andapplyingand less cost. ln iiiyotherlpatent applications Il have explained Athe peculiar applied thus fulfill ing .,tlie inost es- Selitlal In the )resent pforin of armor, the diagothe treadV portion of the armor and each l quireinents for -the proper `working l ofthe .d vicef.

constituted of a plurality of elements or disks 20, connected end to end by means of links 21. In thepresent example, each. series of elements 20, instead of being connected directly to the tread armor, is connected thereto through a hexagonal. disk 10F; :These disks 10c may conveniently be'fsimple plates instead of compound disksr such as are best used in the tread portion proper. Each disk 10C is connected to the margin of the tread armor by a linking element 21 which joins one of its edges 0 to an edge of a single disk 10b of the tread portion; and this linking element 21 is in alinement with the other links 21 of the corresponding series of disks 20. The other edge o adjacent the tread portion of the armor is left free. Colisequently, assuming the traction effect or drag on the tread armor to be toward the left in Fig. 1, the pull on the diagonal chains or series of disks 2O will cause the disks of the tread portion to crowd together, and will also canse disks 10c to crowd closely against the margin of the tread portion without, however, occasioning arching. Said diagonal chains can be connected to the wheel in any suitable manner and in the drawings Fig. 1, I show the preferred form of attaching the same so as to mount the device in position. Referring to Figs. 1 and 4, 22 designates a clencher rim member provided with two series of holes 23, 24, in a staggered relation to each other; said clencher rim member is mounted on the wheel in the manner clearly illustrated in Fig. 4 and is in all respects similar to the clencher rim member illustrated in my patent application for protective armor for pneumatic tires, filed simultaneously herewith.

rIhe holes are provided in said rim member for the purpose of attaching each chain by means of a rivet 25 connecting the last element of the chain to said rim member; said holes are arranged in a staggered relation so as to provide a means for taking up the slack, if necessary, that may occur in the armor after some use. From the drawings, it will be clearly understood that if a rivet connecting the chain to one of the holes 23 is removed and said chain is connected to the neXt hole, 24, to the right, the slack of the chain, if any, will thus be taken up.

In the drawings l also illustrate a novel arrangement for taking up the slack or releasing the armor to fit the proper tension of the tire, which can be quickly operated and which will take care of the slight temporary variations which may be due to different degrees of inflation of the tire.

In its preferred form illustrated in the drawings, Figs. 1, 6, 7 this adjusting device consists of an eccentric block 26 provided with an operating handle 27, mounted on a pivot 28, said pivot 28 also acting as a rivet holding the two end elements 29, 30 of each nected to theclenchen rim member by means of rivet 25.

Said eccentric block hasa round `boss or projection 31 on each ,side which is inserted through a double connecting link 32 which acts as an eccentric strapand whichis lconnected toa loose element 2() of cach chain by means of a rivet 33. In Fig. 6, itis clearly seen that bosses 31 are eccentric to hole 34 through which pivot 28is inserted; therefore the rotating of said part 26 around pivot 28 will cause the lengthening or shortening of the chain as desired.

The eccentric device 26--27 is intended to occupy either one of two positions. In the position of the operating handle show in full lines in Fig. l, the side chain has its greatest length. When the operating handle is turned down between the end elements 29, 30, the chain is shortened by the eccentric. The parts are so arranged and proportioned that in neither of the two positions specified is the working tension of the chain eective to alter the position of the eccentric.

In Fig. 8 I illustrate a modified form of disk for the tread portion of the tire and from the same it is seen that a master rivet 35 holds outer plate 36 and inner plate 37 of the disk together and also holds an insulating backing 38 against the face of inner plate 37. Said insulated backing is provided in the preferred form of armor to prevent wear and abrasions of the tire to which the device is applied and the same can be made of fiber or any other suitable material.

From the foregoing, it appears clear that I provide a form of armor for pneumatic tires which is new, not only in its general form, but also is new in some of its essential elements. Bymeans of this armor the most exposed part of the tire is thoroughly protected from wear, and an excellent friction surface is provided, together with positive means for insuring the necessary tightness of the armor on the tire.

This is a most essential point in devices of this kind, and it is obvious that the same object can be attained through means other than those illustrated in the drawings but within the reach of any ordinary mechanic.

I therefore reserve myself the right to bring to my invention all those changes and modifications which may be reasonably construed as equivalents of the details shown, and which may enter fairly into the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination of a tread portion, a plurality of chains extending diagonally from each side of said tread portion, a clencher rim member at each side to which `said chains are secured, retaining the device in positlon, and an eccentric block for each chain, for adjusting the length of the same,

lao

' weze@ saclccentrcblock being operable Without disturbing thejrattachlnentf ofwthe `chainY sition comprising a chain of connected-links adapted fornttaehment at oneend to sind armoltand `at the otherend to a Wheelfrirn, onel of the link conneetlons compri-sing lan eccentric member operable' to adjust the 10" length of the chain;Uv

In testimony whereofl I have signed thisr speoiotion in the presenceoffi-,Wo subscriby ing Witnesses.

ROBERT C. PURVIS.

Witnesses: Y n

W; O. PURVIs, J. T. SHARPE? cppilolths patent:l maybeootainegrfor ve cents each, by 4 addressing the f Commissioner of atents,

` Washington, D. C. 

